


Arthur Wins the Respect of the Council

by TaliaAlGhul



Category: Aquaman (2018), Aquaman (Comics), DC Animated Universe (Timmverse), DC Extended Universe, DCU (Comics), Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 23:52:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18679831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaliaAlGhul/pseuds/TaliaAlGhul
Summary: Two bold attacks have rocked the Fisherman Kingdom and Xebel, and the offenders are suspected to be surface dwellers. Arthur Curry must make peace between both sides, but how can he do that while his own people are against him as a half-breed king?





	Arthur Wins the Respect of the Council

The next four days were filled with lengthy dialogue between the inner council and that of King Arthur, with Princess Mera in attendance beside him, Nuidis Vulko on the other side, although it would be clear to anyone that Arthur had opted to take the largess of his counsel from the Xebellian princess rather than his own Vizier. An effect that was bound to grind on the hand of the king, who acknowledged early on that Arthur showed a particular vulnerability towards the weaker sex, especially if they managed to seduce their way into his heart. Such was the case with the Amazonian, and now the Xebellian princess. Orm was not the ideal king, however Nuidis Vulko never had to contend with a female mate to his majesty. However, it would be plain to all that the two brothers did share a common trait – and that was Atlanna’s own persistently stubborn nature. Though it differed between brother to brother, it continued to be the bane of Vulko’s and that of the entire council.

On the first day of congregating, Arthur was faced with the reports of bombings at the Fisherman Kingdom. During the span of a few minutes, five American military submarines pummeled the Fisherman kingdom with torpedoes and missiles; suffering them losses that exceeded that of Xebel’s, and with the inclusion of the death their own king. The only curious factor that still lacked logical explanation; was how each crashed sub that was uncovered was absent any operational crew. Each split down in the middle, they would believe the result of assault by the kingdom’s defense forces – except it had been pointed out that the manner by which the subs had been severed stood out in dubiety due to the smoothness of the cut. Given that lasers have been employed in the defense assault, but there had been a working theory that the subs had been severed from within, not from external forces. Perhaps by intent. 

Nothing could be sufficiently verified without further study. And such studies would take time – unfortunately time that they did not appear to have. Anger poured out into the gold-plated doubloon streets; cries for the hand of revenge to satiate the blood of the slain. The surface had gone too far this time, and some blamed King Arthur himself for having revealed to the surface that Atlantis was not a myth. That now the surface had become openly hostile to those of the deep. Rising animus towards the surface bolstered Orm’s own former cause, many of whom thought to live in peace now taking up the banner of such a charge, leading Arthur’s own firm resolution that he must, above all else, confer with the leaders of the American nation in order to determine what was the purpose for such an assault. If at all they had intended to invoke a war with the undersea nation.

As expected, his suggestion that the Americans might have been innocent of the crimes of the deep were furiously rained on with disapprobation by the council, demanding that the king should, and always should take the sides of his people. Not a sentiment that the king would be against, except for the fact that there was no one to speak for the surface dwellers, and he knew if there was restraint to hold talks with the surface, Atlantis would inevitably be led to that war that Orm had rallied for while he still held breath. Torn between his duty to his kingdom, and putting an end to misdirected animosity by his people towards the surface, Arthur found himself in both an inner struggle and an outward one. He knew that if he did exactly as he had intended - to hold talks with the surface, then he would likely lose the little confidence that the Atlanteans had placed in him – to be their leader, to be their king. Except little would they realise that he would be doing exactly as he had pledged to those who had reigned before him – that he would be to Atlantis, the best king that he could possibly hope to be. And save the lives of hundreds upon thousands... if not millions, that would likely fall to collateral in such a massive clash.

The United States of America wouldn’t easily fold to Atlantis. Arthur knew that from the nation’s previous aggressive dealings in the Middle East, Russia, Libya and not to mention Japan, that to this day, still reeled from the effects of the two massive bombardments upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If anything, the forgotten kingdom rising to surface would threaten anyone living upon the land – and had the prospect of rallying other nations to their side, with the inclusion of the Amazon, and the League even. Atlantis simply knew not what they were calling for, and their great sense of paranoia and xenophobia would prove to be the death of them all if he did not opt to stand in the way of disaster. 

That thought alone over-weighed any rapport he would hope to build with his kingdom as its new, and more controversial leader.

“I have heard enough,” Arthur’s voice resounded over the crowd, rising in height above his throne as his emerald cape floated behind him with regal grace. The look upon his face bearing a firm authority that the king had not ever displayed before – enough to send the council into a hushed reverence. Taking a seat in wait for their king to speak. If one had met Arthur on his first day of monarchical duties, they would not have imagined how far the king would have come in such a short time. Gone was the weepy, nervous surface dweller with a dismal level of self-confidence. In his place, here stood an Atlantean with much greater clout, knowing exactly where his power began and ended. Unafraid to castigate anyone bold enough to speak against his plans without due cause, and keep discipline in the grand hall each time the discussion was degrading into an unruly manner. 

**Here stood a king.**

“I have heard the cries of Atlantis, and I swear that those cries will be answered. But at the same time, we cannot claim to be superior to the nations of the surface in every shape and form yet behave like savages, refusing them the opportunity to speak for themselves. Trust me, they will answer to their crimes if the bombings were intentional, and for that, I shall myself lead the armies of Atlantis to the defense of our kingdoms. But if that was not the case, then we must let objectivity rule, and allow time for a proper investigation to get underway. I will ensure that the true culprits of these cowardly schemes will be put under trial and made to pay for their actions. But till then, let us display virtues of patience and forbearance,” he besieged the crowd, gazing into each one of their eyes as he paced the space right above his throne. “Let us prove to the surface that we are better than this. Better than making petty accusations absent of proof. We are Atlanteans, let’s don the title with pride. And I shall take that pride up to the surface; so that the surface might finally be faced with the prospect that they can no longer disregard Atlantis’ existence. Each action they take against the ocean bears consequences. And we will address each of those consequences where necessary.”

There was absolute silence at the end of Arthur’s speech, jaws fallen ajar at the unexpected rousing effect of his words. If the council had once thought lowly of their half-breed king, they were in that moment humbled… dumbed…. and if they were to be perfectly honest, awed. An emotion they never expected to experience in the presence of their part-surface king. And yet…

The first *pat pat* sounds of clapping came from the back, an action that soon caught on with its neighboring Atlanteans. And the gentle sounds of clapping soon united amongst those who were moved by the speech. Except it was not just a few who had been impressed by Arthur’s words, and soon the sounds of clapping grew into the imposing sound of a heavy rain upon a pavement. Nobles rose from their seats, lifting their applause up above the height of their heads to extol the words of their king. Beaming smiles upon faces that once only held disdain for him and all that he stood for. 

**A moment that Arthur would always remember.**


End file.
